Anti-insect and anti-small animal, indiscernible disposable garbage bags

ABSTRACT

There is provided a bag for use in the disposal of garbage, solid and semi-solid waste, and trash (hereinafter “garbage bag”) formed of a synthetic plastic resin. It comprises a red dye, which renders the garbage bag visibly red to the human eye but substantially less visible and almost indiscernible to insects and animals, and a thickness that prevents the garbage bag from being opaque. In an alternate embodiment, the garbage bag further comprises a composition having insect and animal repellent properties The composition is a mixture of insect repelling natural ingredients which mixture is incorporated into the synthetic resin prior to extrusion or molding to form the bags.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to waste disposal bags and moreparticularly, it relates to new and improved plastic waste disposal orgarbage bags which are not only capable of repelling small animals andinsects in a safe manner, but are also substantially less visible andattractive thereto. The term “bags” includes sacks and the like, open orclosed at either or both ends.

2. Related and Prior Art Statement

There are many instances where the maintenance of a clean and sanitaryhome necessitates the disposal of the garbage, trash and waste which isgenerated within the home. Such trash, waste and garbage can includeamong other things, paper, dirty paper towels, spent tissues anddisposable dishware and cutlery, used food wrappings and packaging, andlots and lots of food scraps left over from either breakfast, lunch,snacks and dinner. Such food scraps can include dairy products such ascheese and empty yogurt containers, leftover meats and fish, unfinishedbreads, cookies and cereals, and of course half eaten vegetables andfruits, including but not limited vegetable and fruit peels.

The most common way of waste, trash or garbage removal and disposalconsists of placing all the garbage, solid waste and trash in plasticgarbage or trash bags and disposing of the bags when they become full.Thereafter, the garbage or trash bags are placed in garbage or trashcans, which in turn are placed curbside to be emptied into garbagetrucks for ultimate carting and disposal away from the home.

Often the garbage, solid or semi-solid waste, or trash generated by ahome contains thing that other organisms, such as animals or insects,consider a perfect food. Such animals and insects include, among otherthings, rats, racoons, mice, cats, dogs, flies, wasps, etc.,(hereinafter collectively “pests”). Thus, pests become very muchattracted to the garbage that humans produce. First, they detect thegarbage, waste or trash, i.e., with their sense of sight or smell orboth, which in turn allows them to recognize the garbage as a viablefood source. Then, via their sense of smell coupled with their vision,they will gravitate to the garbage and if the pests are small animals,tear open, or in some way breach the garbage bag and rummage through itto get to the recognized food. This in turn will create a mess andpossibly unsanitary conditions in the area where the garbage or trashbag is placed. If on the other hand, the pests are insects then theywill alight on the garbage, lay eggs, and begin the waste putrificationprocess which will not only generate noxious fumes and unsightly garbagebut can also lead to the spreading of disease from garbage to humans.

The garbage, trash or waste disposal bags available on the market andcommonly used in connection with the disposal of solid and semi-solidwaste, garbage or trash are made of either white, black or green plasticof a particularly thin gauge. However, white, black or green trash bagsare all visible to all pests, animal and insects alike. Furthermore,even the thickest of the commercially available bags will easily ripfrom a pest's serious gnawing, and pawing attention to it. Even worsehowever, is the fact that after putting the garbage bags on the street,they will often sit in the sun and the already semi-spent garbage, wasteor trash within will start to heat up. Being hard to seal, these bagswill start to let out a stench which will permeate the surrounding areaand attract pests. Flies will alight on them and lay eggs and within notime maggots will start to eat the rotting garbage. Additionally,animals like cats, dogs and racoons will jump at the chance to rummagethrough it.

One way of trying to keep pests away is by spraying the garbage or trashbags with some kind of chemical pesticide or repellant before placingthem curbside. Pest repellents and insecticides are well known and verycommon. Hence, as was just stated herein above, individuals might try tosolve the problem of pests rummaging through and making a mess ofgarbage, or alighting thereon, by taking an ordinary garbage bag andspraying it with, or in some way, applying thereon, on its outer surfacea chemical pesticide or repellant. A good example of such a pesticide isthe chemical known as “DEET.” However, most chemical repellants,including “DEET,” are toxic both to humans and to animals, and having tospray them onto filled garbage bags every time they are put curbside,can have very seriously negative and deleterious effects on anindividual's health, as well as the health of curious pets. Moreover,“DEET” as well as many other commercial pesticides are only effective inrepelling insects and do not act as a repellant to other common pestspecies such as racoons and cats. Finally, applying a pesticide orinsecticide directly on the surface of the trash bag providesfor atotally ephemeral and short protection against animals and insects asthe surface application of an insecticide or repellant will quickly ruboff or wear off from use and exposure to the elements.

The relevant and material prior art has tried to address the garbage andtrash bag drawbacks set forth herein above, in various ways and withvarious devices. One example of improvements in the prior art that havetried to address these disadvantages is Foster et al., U.S. Letters Pat.No. 5,150,541 which discloses a device for killing insects consistingessentially of: (i) a toxin-containing 11 element, and (ii) a meshcovering for the toxin-containing element of (i), to protect nontargetorganisms from contact with the toxin, the toxin-containing elementcomprising about 50% to 78% of the surface area, and the mesh coveringcomprising about 22% to 50%; and a method for killing insects byexposing them to contact with the described device.

Another example is Ron et. Al. U.S. Letters Pat. No. 5,839,221, whichdiscloses an insecticidal device having a panel of an insect attractingcolor, preferably yellow, and a spherical body of another colorpreferably red. The spherical body is capable of defusing a liquid whichcontains an insect attractant and is combined with the panel in a mannerthat they form together an essentially flat panel having hemisphericalbulges formed by the spherical body. A specific panel, which can be usedas a panel in the above device and can be used as an independentinsecticidal device is also provided.

Yet another example is Scott et. Al. U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,771,254directed to insecticide treated bags. The bags are primarily flexibleplastic bags coated or impregnated with an organo-phosphorusinsecticide, especially pirimiphos methyl. The pyrimiphos methyl has avapor pressure at 20 degrees celsius in the range of 1×10⁻³-1×10⁻⁶millimeters of mercury, and is used in an amount of 1 to 100 m.g. of theinsecticide per square foot of bag surface. The pyrimiphos methyl iscoated or impregnated onto the plastic bag by passing the bag filmcontinuously through a bath of a solution or dispersion of theinsecticide, and preferably in a lacquer or printing ink base, precededby some treatment to make the plastics surface more retentive to lacqueror printing.

Still another example is Bordenka et. al., U.S. Letters Pat. No.3,767,785 directed to insect repellent articles. They comprise webscontaining a class of insect repellent compounds. These webs in turn canbe fabricated into clothing containers and packages or employed ascomponents thereof, significantly lessening the possibility of insectinvasions of the interior of the containers with attendant contaminationof the contents.

Yet a still further example is Clayton, Jr. U.S. Letters Pat. No.6,076,678 directed to a tick repellant carcass bag kit for use byhunters in the field to decrease the possibility of deer tick infection.The carcass wrapping kit has a wrap cloth positioned within ahermetically sealed housing member, the wrap cloth being impregnatedwith a deer tick repellant prior to its positioning within thehermetically sealed housing member or while in the hermetically sealedhousing member immediately prior to use by way of a fracturable ampuleof vial within the hermetically sealed housing member containing thedeer tick repellant.

Still another example is Riley U.S. Letters Pat. No. 4,804,142 directedto pest repellent articles for use in connection with receptacles whichhave not been treated or impregnated. The pest repellent article is fordispensing a repellent composition to a receptacle or area to beprotected is disclosed. It comprises an outer cover and an inner porousremovable pest repellent composition carrier member. The repellentcomposition carrier is formed of a compact absorbent structure and isimpregnated with a volatile pest repellent composition. The outer coveror envelope completely encloses the repellent composition carrier memberand is formed of a flexible, puncturable, tearable materialsubstantially impermeable to the repellent composition and the vaporsthereof. The outer cover is releasably sealed about the inner porouspest repellent composition carrier member and can be opened to removethe inner porous repellent composition carrier member. The inner porouspest repellent composition carrier member is releasably sealed wherebythe composition carrier member can be opened to release the volatilerepellent composition carrier.

Another example is Simpson, U.S. Letters Pat. No. 5,884,801 whichdiscloses an improved trash bag having a sidewall forming atrash-receiving volume, and having an inside surface, an outsidesurface, and an opening. There is at least one adhesive patch on theinside surface of the trash bag for trapping insects that enter the bag.The adhesive patches preferably extend substantially around the interiorof the bag, and are spaced sufficiently from the opening of the bag thatwhen the bag is inserted into a trash container, at least some of theadhesive patches are inside the container. A removable protective covercan be provided on the adhesive patches for protecting the adhesivebefore the trash bag is used, but which can be removed to expose theadhesive when the trash bag is used. The patches are preferably made toattract insects, for example being of a contrasting color to the insidesurface of the bag, having contrasting insect silhouettes, and/orincluding chemical attractants.

A further example is Fitsakis, U.S. Letters Pat. No. 5,359,808 whichdiscloses a trap bag for the extermination of insects and particularlyof may-flies (olive fly, domestic fly, Cherry fly and Mediterranean fly)comprising a trap bag with an insecticide soaked surface, containing awater or water solution with insect attracting substances, insects beingkilled as they fall upon the toxic surface of this trap bag. Thematerials used in manufacturing this trap are such as to allow a slow,continuous and controlled evaporation of the substances containedtherein, the service life of the trap bag being extended by periodicallyadding a water solution of the insect attracting substances.

Yet a further example is Hill et. al. U.S. Letters Pat. No. 4,238,878which discloses an insect trap comprising a chimney member adapted toallow a flow of air to be forced therethrough, a reservoir of insectattractant which under the influence of the flow of air is evaporatedand borne as a stream of attractant vapor emanating from the chimneymember into the surrounding atmosphere, and a tacky substance providedinside the chimney member which will trap flying insects lured thereinby the stream of attractant vapor.

Still another example is Rutledge et. al., U.S. Letters Pat. No.4,976,062 which discloses a chemical barrier for rodents and/or reptilesincluding an elongated flexible, porous fabric tube 22 of a generallyrope-like size, shape and flexibility contains a plurality of elongatedbodies, 24, 26 . . . of granular repellent material 28. The bodies 24,26 . . . are spaced from each other by short, generally repellent freegaps 30 within the tube 22 and the size of the granules 28 in each bodyis sufficiently large that they cannot pass through the fabric formingthe tube 22. Barriers 32 at the gaps 30 prevent the entry of therepellent material 28 into the gaps and allow the tube 22 to be severedin the gaps 30 within spillage of repellent material 28.

A final example is Jones, et. al. U.S. Letters Pat. No. 4,320,112directed to a composition for pest repellent receptacles. The receptaclesuch as a plastic trash can or bag contains an insect and animalrepellent for ridding areas containing the receptacles of annoyinginsects and for preventing animals from turning over or destroying thereceptacles when full, avoiding unnecessary clean-ups. Preferably, thepest repellent is incorporated into the receptacle during the formingthereof. Effective amounts of naphthalene flakes and oil of citronellaadded in solid form to the synthetic resin forming the receptacleprovides for the insect and animal repellent properties.

All of the improvements set forth above and many others, both patentedand unpatented, focus on changing and improving traditionally availablegarbage bags, trash bags and waste disposal bags through the addition ofinsect repellants, insecticides and devices that deliver insectrepellants and insecticides thereto. However, the insecticides and therepellants are extremely toxic. For example, according towww.scorecard.com, a website used by a diverse audience, from teachersto health professionals to educate themselves about pollution problems,toxic chemicals and their properties, naphthalene flakes are widelyknown to be a toxic carcinogen, extremely hazardous to humans. It hasboth a human inhalation toxicity score and a human health risk screeningscore above the 75^(th) percentile. This means that it is more toxic andhazardous to humans than over 75 percent of known hazardous chemicalcompounds. Additionally, it has a environmental health hazard in the90^(th) percentile. Therefore, if one were to use this on a regularbasis, in connection with often used garbage bags, they would beexposing both themselves and the surrounding public, to grave healthrisks while at the same time introducing pollutants into theenvironment.

More importantly however, is that the above prior art improvements, failto completely keep pests, both animals, or insects, or both totally andcompletely away from the garbage cans.

Traditionally, commonly used garbage bags, trash bags or waste disposalbags are black, green or white. Green, black or white are the onlycolors used primarily with trash bags due to the low production costsfor bags having these colors, the high cost of generating custom coloredtrash bags and the fact that many of the other colors used in connectionwith trash bags are reserved for special types of bags. As for example,opaquely red bags are used exclusively for hazardous wastes and thespecial disposal thereof. However, these colors, i.e., green, black andwhite are known to be extremely attractive to many pests species, bothanimals and insects, because they are extremely visible and discernibleto them (see for example Hill, et. al. U.S. Letters Pat. No. 4,283,878,col. 1, 1. 65-1. 69 stating “ . . . . The outside of the enclosure ispreferably a warm or dark color i.e. a brown, red, black or similarcolors as such colors attract flying insects).” Thus, the bags' abilityto repel because of the repellents, or to kill because of theinsecticides is compromised by the counteracting attractive force of thecolor of the bags, visible to all pests. In other words, the bags'repelling ingredients repel the pests, but the bags' colors attract andhold them; a situation that can prove quite contradictory and ultimatelyhazardous, particularly if the repellents or insecticides have grownweak with time, thereby allowing the pests to be guided both by theirvision of the bag and of their smell.

Accordingly, there is a need for disposable garbage bags, trash bags,and waste management bags that are more successful in keeping pests,both animals, or insects, or both, away from the garbage cans throughthe use of environmentally and health friendly chemical compositions andthe substantial diminution of the pests' ability to see the garbage bagsor trash bags, or waste disposal bags.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

IT IS THEREFORE AN OBJECT of the present invention to provide a garbagebag which is substantially less visible to both animals and insects.

IT IS ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention to provide a garbage bagwhich effectively repels both animals and insects.

IT IS YET ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention to repel both insectsand animals with repellents that are all natural in addition to beingsubstantially less visible.

IT IS STILL ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention to provide a garbagebag which effectively keeps away both animals and insects by beingsubstantially less visible to them, while simultaneously repelling themthrough all natural repellents.

IT IS A FURTHER OBJECT of the present invention to provide asubstantially less visible repellent-containing garbage bag that posesno health risks to either human or domestic animal.

IT IS YET A FURTHER OBJECT of the present invention to provide arepellent-containing garbage bag that poses no environmental riskswhatsoever.

IT IS STILL A FURTHER OBJECT of the present invention to provide arepellent-bearing garbage bag, whose repellent cannot be removed orwiped off

IT IS ANOTHER OBJECT of the present invention to provide a novel pestrepellent composition and dye which can be incorporated into a garbagebag to render it capable of repelling insects and other animals boththrough the repellent and through the fact that the dye renders thegarbage bag substantially less visible.

These objects, as well as other objects and advantages will becomeapparent from the following disclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a bag for use inthe disposal of garbage, solid and semi-solid waste, and trash(hereinafter “garbage bag”) formed of a synthetic plastic resin. Thegarbage bag further comprises a red dye, which renders the garbage bagvisibly red to the human eye but substantially less visible to the eyesof insects, animals or both and a thickness that prevents the garbagebag from being opaque. In an alternate embodiment, the garbage bagfurther comprises a composition having insect and animal repellentproperties The composition is a mixture of insect repelling naturalingredients which mixture is incorporated into the synthetic resin priorto extrusion or molding to form the bags.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims which particularly pointout and distinctly claim the present invention, it is believed that thepresent invention will be better understood from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in whichlike numerals represent identical elements and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pest-repellent bag of the presentinvention for use in the disposal of garbage formed of a synthetic resinwhich contains therein a composition having insect and animal repellentproperties and a red dye rendering the pest repellent bag visibly red tothe human eye but substantially less visible to the eyes of insects,animals, or both.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one corner of the pest-repellent bag ofFIG. 1 taken through 2;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one method of manufacture of the pestrepellent sheets that will give rise to the bags of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the inventive pest repellent bags inactual use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring more specifically to the drawings, FIG. 1 generally depictsthe inventive garbage bag, or trash bag, or waste disposal bag(hereinafter collectively “waste disposal bag”). The inventive wastedisposal bag is designed to replace whatever waste disposal bags arecurrently available in the market. It has been engineered not only to besuitable for the disposal of waste, but once in place, as shown in FIG.4 to be substantially less visible to both animals and insects whilesimultaneously repelling them.

The inventive waste disposal bag comprises a plastic resin and a reddye. Waste disposal bags according to the present invention are made byfirst mixing the virgin plastic or recycled plastic resin which is inpelletized form and the dye in proportions that will result in a lessthan opaque waste disposal bags. Thereafter, the resulting mixture isformed into flexible sheets either by calendering, or by extrusion,preferably followed by drawing in one or more directions at right anglesto each other.

The preferred method of making the sheets or film for the inventivewaste disposal bags is the well known “bubble” method in which a tube ofthe mixture is extruded and thereafter caused to expand by theapplication of internal air pressure to form a tubular bubble. Thecooled tubular film may, after flattening, be sealed transversely atintervals of one bag length, and the separate bags severed from thelength or provided instead with lines of perforations or similarweakening by which they may subsequently be separated from a reeledlength of bags.

The plastic resin pellets may be made from any film-forming polymer,including polyvinyl chloride and copolymers thereof, e.g. withvinylidine chloride; polypropylene, polysulphones andpoly-4-methyl-pentene 1. In the preferred embodiment a low densitypolythene is used on account of its cheapness, and wide use in themanufacture of bags. Or alternatively virgin plastic resin made from upto 80% recycled industrial scrap with a blend of strength enhancers canbe used to form the waste disposal bag.

The red dye used to form the waste disposal bags comprises a lowdensity, polyethylene concentrate in pellet form having a red color.

In an alternate embodiment of the inventive waste disposal bag, theinventive waste disposal bags further comprise a repellant mixture.Prior to the formation of the inventive waste disposal bags via themethods set forth herein above, the repellant mixture is pelletized. Thepelletized repellant mixture, the plastic resin pellets and the dye aremixed in a proportion that when the plastic waste disposal bag is formedit is translucently red. It is important that the waste disposal bag notbe opaque. Failure to meet the necessary translucency requirement willresult in the waste disposal bag being mistaken for hazardous wastewhich in turn will result in special disposal of the bag in accordancewith town codes and regulations. In the preferred version of thealternate embodiment, 2.5 pounds of the pelletized repellant is mixedwith 97.5 pounds of the recycled or virgin plastic pelletized resin and2.5 pounds of red dye to manufacture red translucent, insect and animalrepellent waste disposal bags that are up to 2.2 mil thick.

Before it is pelletized, the repellant mixture comprises a mixture ofall natural ingredients that are registered for use either as foodadditives or as perfume ingredients. They are considered non-toxic andexempted from registration with the EPA. They comprise peppermint oil,lemon oil, citronella oil, rosemary oil, clove oil, and geranium oil. Inthe preferred embodiment of the repellant mixture the percentconcentration of each of the foregoing natural components of therepellant mixture is as follows: 15% peppermint oil, 10% lemon oil, 5%rosemary oil, 4% citronella oil, 3% clove oil and 3% geranium oil.Notwithstanding the fact that the repellant mixture comprises allnatural materials, it is capable of repelling pests, includingcockroaches, rats, mice, cats, dogs, raccoons and many others.

Once the repellant mixture is made, it is pelletized in preparation forthe next step in the process of producing the inventive waste disposalbag. It is pelletized with inert ingredients consisting of plasticresin, apple pumice and mineral oil, in such a fashion that 40% of eachof the pellets comprises the repellant mixture and 60% of each of thepellets comprises the inert ingredients.

It is clear then from all of the above, that incorporating the red dyeinto the pelletized plastic resin renders the waste disposal bagsubstantially less visible and indiscernible to pests, both insects andanimal. Furthermore, incorporating the 7 repellant mixture furtherenhances the waste disposal bag indiscernibility qualities by renderingit into an pest repelling device.

It is also clear from all of the above that it would be rather counterintuitive to use red dye in the formation of the inventive wastedisposal bag because of two very good reasons: (i) the use of a red dyeto form a red, non-opaque, waste disposal bag is contraindicated by theexclusive use of red bags, in connection with hazardous waste bags. Useof a red bag will result in the waste disposal bag being mistaken forhazardous waste which in turn will result in special disposal of the bagin accordance with town codes and regulations; and (ii) the prior artactually states that the color red is actually attractive to insects andanimals. Yet the red dye being used, in the concentrations that it isbeing used in, results in a red translucent waste disposal bag that issubstantially less visible and indiscernible to the pests.

Finally, it is clear from the above that the inventive waste disposalbag is effectively indiscernible to both animals and insects;effectively repels both animals and insects with repellents that are allnatural; and provides a repellent-containing garbage bag that poses nohealth risks to either human or domestic animal or risks to theenvironment.

While particular embodiments of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed in detail herein, they are provided by way of illustrationonly and should not be construed to limit the invention. Those skilledin the art will readily recognize that various modifications and changesmay be made to the present invention without departing from the spiritand intent of the present invention, as defined by the scope of thefollowing claims.

1. A garbage bag formed of a synthetic resin which contains therein acomposition having insect and animal repellent properties and a red dyerendering said garbage bag indiscernible to both insects and animals. 2.A red translucent garbage bag formed of a synthetic resin and comprisinga red dye rendering said garbage bag substantially less visible andindiscernible to insects and animals.
 3. The red translucent garbage bagas claimed in claim 2, further comprising an all natural, non-toxicrepellent mixture.